From the author of the bestselling and booker prizeshortlisted the glass room and trapeze. Jun 10, 2015 the trouble with tightrope is that, while the result is often undeniably entertaining, this respect seems to grow increasingly slavish the longer the book goes on. Simon mawers last book the girl who fell from the sky marked a serious change of direction. Tightrope is effectively a sequel to mawer s the girl who fell from the sky. Theres a lot to explain both about mawers books, and about the whole phenomenon of secondworldwar fiction featuring young female. Read tightrope a novel by simon mawer available from rakuten kobo. Mawers trapeze offers a heroine more worldlywise than she was in the first book. He published his first novel, chimera, at the comparatively late age of thirtynine and it went on to win the mckitterick prize for first novels.
Simon mawer on tightrope martin pengelly, the guardian, nov. I picked up trapeze a few years later and it sat on my tbr stack for quite some time. His first novel, chimera, won the mckitterick prize for first novels in 1989. That same woman, marian sutro, returns in tightropeand so does mawers full. Simon mawer is at the ediburgh international book festival on august. Author simon mawer is an excellent writer and tightrope is a good book. What initially seemed to be a sort of alan fursttype historical fiction of a novel became a 500 page bore of a story. Here we have another gifted british writer of idea.
An historical thriller that brings back marian sutro, exspecial operati. What made the experience of listening to tightrope the most enjoyable. Its a novel i recall fondlya magnificent story that tracks marians training and challenges working in espionage during the war. Tightrope simon mawer abacus about the author simon mawer was born in 1948 in england, and spent his childhood there, in cyprus and in malta.
As part of an underground resistance operation, marian parachuted into nazioccupied europe. It not as good as the glass room, but then very few books are as good as room. Tightrope by simon mawer 2015, paperback for sale online ebay. In marian simon mawer has created a complex, contradictory heroine, emotionally fragile, endlessly resourceful, and unrepentantly amorous. Mendels dwarf 1997, his first book to be published in the u. Tightrope, by simon mawer, is a sequel to his previous novel, the girl who fell from the sky. Mawer blows the dust off the history and makes it matter as you read. I initially felt that it was a bit difficult to get into the rhythm and flow of tightrope by simon mawer. Successful historical fiction tightrope by simon mawer. Mar 12, 2019 simon mawer is author of eleven novels and two non fiction books. Mawer sensitively evokes the crushing normality of postwar britain. The glass room, published by little, brown in january 2009, was on the man booker shortlist.
Oct 15, 2015 the characters in simon mawers latest spy thriller, tightrope, set in the gray, exhausted, murky days of postworld war ii england, spend a lot of time in tense encounters that pivot on. Buy tightrope by simon mawer from amazons fiction books store. Tightrope tells a dramatic story about one woman testing the boundaries of loyalty as one kind of war gives way to a shadowy new one. Mawer studied zoology at brasenose college, oxford and has worked as a biology teacher. From the author of the bestselling and booker prizeshortlisted the glass room and trapeze an historical thriller that brings back marian sutro, exspecial operations agent, and traces her romantic and political exploits in postworld war ii london, where the cold war is about to reshape old loyalties as. I just wish i cared about marian sutro more than i did. Jun 04, 2015 author simon mawer is an excellent writer and tightrope is a good book. I like simon mawers writing style his characters are believable and it is interesting as the plot moves from the end of ww2 to the early part of the cold war. The characters in simon mawers latest spy thriller, tightrope, set in the gray, exhausted, murky days of postworld war ii england, spend a lot of time in tense encounters that pivot on. Mawer is also the author of the glass room and other novels. As allied forces close in on berlin in spring 1945, a solitary figure emerges from the wreckage that is germany. In simon mawers tightrope, a female spy masters the tools of her. Through a series of flashbacks that extended from the mid1940s to the present, the heroics and adventures of the heroine are revealed, albeit very, very slowly.
In simon mawer s tightrope, a female spy masters the tools of her trade sarah lyall, the new york times, oct. Prague spring, by simon mawer, little, brown, 395pp. In simon mawers tightrope, a female spy masters the tools of her trade sarah lyall, the new york times, oct. The gospel of judas, the fall winner of the 2003 boardman tasker prize for mountain literature, and swimming to. Sometimes it was a bit difficult to follow the storyline as. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1, 2, or 3 months new customers receive 15% off your. In simon mawers tightrope, a female spy masters the. Simon mawer is a true master of literary espionage. Listening time for tightrope by simon mawer is 14 hours, 20 minutes. Shortlisted for the man booker prize, simon mawers the glass room brilliantly evokes six decades of eastern european history, beginning in 1930s czechoslovakia. An historical thriller that brings back marian sutro, exspecial operations agent, and traces her romantic and political exploits in postworld war ii london, where the cold war is about to reshape old loyalties.
Jewish newlyweds viktor and liesel landauer build their dream home, and despite the low hum of the german war machine reverberating through the land, the two look forward to a life of promise. Being able to pick up marian sutros story from where the previous book finished. Trapeze, may 2012 mawers control of his themes of language, desire, memory and the power of place is extraordinary. His fifth book mendels dwarf established simon mawer as a prolific author on either side of the atlantic with new york times terming the novel as a thematically ambitious and humorous novel. Successful historical fiction tightrope by simon mawer a. Following on from the post on kate atkinsons life after life, today im looking at tightrope by simon mawer, another award winning historical novel a long list of award winners can be found here. Tightrope, by simon mawer the novels primary storyline begins approximately where mawers last novel, trapeze other press, 2012, left off. Nov 03, 2015 by simon mawer from the author of the bestselling and booker prizeshortlisted the glass room and trapeze. In simon mawers tightrope, a female spy masters the tools. In the opening sections of the book, mawer captures marians disorientation with. The girl who fell from the sky abacus paperback, may 20. Tightrope by simon mawer, 9780349140742, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Tightrope ebook by simon mawer 9781590517246 rakuten kobo.
My love of his books started with a novel i picked up a few years back called the glass room and continues to this day. The trouble with tightrope is that, while the result is often undeniably entertaining, this respect seems to grow increasingly slavish the longer the book goes on. In tightrope, author simon mawer focuses once again on marian sutro, the central figure in 2011s trapeze which details marians experiences during wwii. Wikimedia commons has media related to simon mawer. Tightrope is an historical thriller that brings back marian sutro, exspecial operations agent, and traces her romantic and political exploits in postworld war ii london, where the cold war. Tightrope by simon mawer 2015, paperback for sale online. Simon mawers last book the girl who fell from the sky marked a serious. In october last year i went to the boston book festival and simon mawer was there talking about his latest book tightrope, which i learned was a sequel to trapeze. The followup to the girl who fell from the sky recalls vintage le carre. He is one of the most accomplished novelists today scotsman. Start a free 30day trial today and get your first audiobook free.
Mawer exhibits a great feeling for suspense, and produces memorable episodes in dark alleyways, deserted cafes, and shadowy corners of pere lachaise. Marian, who in trapeze parachuted into occupied france as an undercover agent, is now returning to england at the end of world war ii. Tightrope by simon mawer is narrated by kate reading and i thought she did a good job of narrating tightrope. Most recently, he wrote prague spring 2018 about brits living in and travelling through czechoslovakia during both the prague spring and subsequent warsaw pact invasion. Tightrope is a compelling novel about identity and deception which constantly surprises the reader. The gospel of judas, the fall winner of the 2003 boardman tasker prize for mountain literature, and. This captivating historical thriller brings back marian sutro, exspecial operations agent, and traces her romantic and political exploits in. I dont think you have had to have read girl to understand tightrope, but you might as well. Dec 21, 2015 tightrope, by simon mawer the novels primary storyline begins approximately where mawers last novel, trapeze other press, 2012, left off.
Into sams reluctant care falls a worldfamous russian pianist who pleads for asylum for himself and his violinist girlfriend. So its probably worth a quick recap, for those struggling to keep up with the great avalanche of books that tend to. The book won mckitterick prize for the category of the first book by a write over the age of forty. I can advise you to read tightrope as it is wellwritten. From the author of the bestselling and booker prizeshortlisted the glass room and trapeze an historical thriller tha. It is marian sutro, whose existence was last known to her british controllers in autumn 1943 in paris when she was captured by the gestapo. Educated at millfield school in somerset and at brasenose college, oxford, mawer worked as a biology teacher for many years. Listen to tightrope by simon mawer available from rakuten kobo. From the author of the bestselling and booker prizeshortlisted the glass room and trapeze an historical thriller that brings. Simon mawer s tightrope was quite a disappointment. Jun 04, 2015 this book has become one of my all time favorites. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction.
Simon mawer has 15 books on goodreads with 43643 ratings. That same woman, marian sutro, returns in tightropeand so does mawers full commitment to respecting the thriller conventions. In 2015 he published tightrope, a followon novel from the girl who fell from the sky. I like simon mawer s writing style his characters are believable and it is interesting as the plot moves from the end of ww2 to the early part of the cold war.